The Coals that Ignited the Flames
by Mrs.KiliMellark
Summary: The story behind Katniss's mother. Goes from the first time meeting to there wedding day! Please read, the story is much better than the summery.
1. Chapter 1

The apothecary shop I worked in was never really busy on Thursdays, so it surprised her when the bell on the door rang causing me to look up from my book. In the doorway stood a man, no wait a boy not much older then me.

" Can I help you?" I asked.

"No, unless you can stop the hunger games, or prevent my little sisters and brothers from starving." said the ruggedly and dirty looking stranger. The boy was not from the merchants area, he was probably from the seam, I knew from his silver eyes and his shaggy brown hair, and also by the way his clothes were hanging off of his body. The boy was in desperate need of a good meal.

"I actually came here to ask if you could identify theses berries." he held out a small handful of black berries around the shape of a blueberry. Honey berry she'd never seem them growing naturally in district 12 we usually had to order them, they were extremely expensive and hard to get.

"I'd never seen them before and nobody at the hob knew what they were; do you know?"

"yeah, there honey berries, there great for healing wounds, i've never heard of them growing naturally, where did you find them?"

"Theres a patch out in the woods."

The woods? I had never heard of anyone sneaking into them, they were surrounded by an electric fence. When the boy say her eyes widening the boy quickly said.

"Don't worry the fences are never on and what the peacekeepers don't know won't hurt them. So can you buy them or not?"

"Yes, but..."

"Thank you. How much.?" The boy didn't let me talk for very long.

"I can give you 3 dollars for the bag."

"Three dollars?." The boy looks like he would jump up and down. Three dollars could probably keep his family feed for a month. He looked like he would hug me and completely startled me when he did.

"Sorry, The name is Cole, Cole Everdeen."


	2. Chapter 2

A.N- if I owned the hunger games Prim and Cinna would be living happily ever after

After Cole left I had a hard time going back to work. I couldn't stop thinking about him. He was just so different from anyone I had ever known. There was something that made him stand out to me. I was distracted by think about him and kept messing up people's orders and confusing ingredients.

6 o'clock couldn't come fast enough. When closing time finally came, I locked up our shop and head home.

"Hey! Sage! Wait up!"I turned around at the sound of my name.

The bakers son, Brain Mellark was jogging to chatch up to me. He fell into step with me and started taking to me. He was one of my good friends. I knew he had a crush on me and that there was the expectation that I would grow up and marry him. I like him and all but I didn't love him. My mind went back to Cole. He was a seam kid, I was a merchant's kid. We would never be able to have a relationship with him. I knew this but I didn't really want to believe this...

" and then Mom said that I needed to apologize... And Sage! Are you even paying attention?" Brain's voice startled me out of the daydream.

"Sorry Bri... What were you saying?"

"Dosen't matter anymore, we are at your house. See you later, Sage." He turned to head to his own house up the Hill.

I could tell Brian was upset that I didn't listen to his story, but I didn't want to stay and talk. Brain was sweet and all but he was just not Cole.

I undid the white fence and went inside to our humble house. We weren't the richest in district 12 but we lived comfortably. I headed up to my room. My room was my favorite place outside the apothecary shop. It was light green the same shade as my namesake, and my eyes. My wicker bed was covered by a white bedspread and dried lavender hung from the ceiling.

As much as I loved my room I didn't want to be there at that momment. I went to the living room and called up my only female friend. Millie Donner. I hoped she was feeling good enough to go on a walk so I could talk to her. Millie had lost her twin sister a year ago in the hunger games and she just hadn't been the same since. I picked up the phone and called her. She answered on the 3rd ring.

"Hello, Donner residence," her voice had lost its sing-song tone.

"Hey, Millie, how are you feeling? I wanted to tell you about this boy I met."

**Hey! Yes you! See that little button there? Yes it's the follow button! Please click it! Thanks for reading, this is my first Fan-Fiction. I am currently working on a Clato fan fiction and hopefully it will be up by the end of the week!**


	3. Chapter 3

I sadly do not own the hunger games. Although if I did my mother would probely be worried about my dark thoughts.  
"I'm great now! OMG OMG! Sage has a crush in a boy! I will be over in three minuets!" Came her now chipper reply.  
"Millie? Hello?" All that met my response was a dial tone.

"Question one. Who is it? No wait let me guess... Brian? No no no. Ryder Woods... That boy is crushing hard on you... Oh oh oh! I know Carson! I can see the way you look at him at lunch. Oh never mind just tell me." I had barely managed to put the phone up and walk down stairs before the doorbell rang and Millie pounced on me.  
"Let's go on a walk. I don't want my parents to overhear me."  
We made our way to the edge of the merchants area and headed on a path towards the mines. Neither one of us was allowed anywhere near the mines, but there was a path kinda near the woods that we could go on.  
"Okay please please please please don't tell anyone Millie, swear. "  
"I swear on my dead sisters life, I will not tell anybody. Now for Delvia's sake! Tell me already!"  
"His name is Cole..."  
"Cole, Cole, Cole, doesn't ring a bell? What's his last name?"  
"Everdeen..."  
"Cole Everdeen, Cole Everdeen Cole Ever... SAGE! A boy from the Seam? The Seam? Oh my goodness Sage! Really? A seam boy?"Millie's reply was what I was expecting.  
"Um... Maybe?"  
"SAGE, you have got to be kidding me. You can't like a seam boy! How did you even meet him?"  
"He came into the shop today. He sold me some berries that he found in the woods."  
"Let me get this straight, One. You like a boy, Two Said boy is from the seam and three, the boy hangs out the woods, and finally four, he hangs out in the woods behind the fence. In other words Sage your screwed with a capital s. you might as well volunteer for the hunger games, but please, please, please don't. I couldn't bear to lose you too. Also how do you mange to get a crush on someone after just meeting him once?"  
Millie started to ramble and when she finally took a breath I managed to get my reply in.  
"I don't know how I managed to get a crush on some guy right after meeting him, it... it just feels like I'm meant to spend the rest of my life with him. It's kind of hard to explain. It sad cause I will most likely never get to manage my happy ever after with him. He's a seam boy and I'm a merchant girl. Relationships never work out between those couples."  
Millie was quiet for a minuet before she sat down on a log.  
" my mom was a Seam girl... Or that's what my dad told me." Millie's mom had been reaped for the hunger games when she was 17 right after the birth of her twin daughters. Millie never knew her.  
I managed a small smile. I sat back down on the log besides her.  
"I'm sorry Mills, it's just complicated. Your dad could support your mom, he was the rich one, its just differnet in my case, I'm the rich one."  
I knew Millie was gone and it was time to start heading back. The quitting bell had rung for the mines and the sky was getting dark. Snow was begaining to fall.  
"We should head back Millie, nights coming."  
Millie stood up and we headed back up the path. We got to the head of the trail and Millie headed home, I was about to head home a voice changed my mind.  
A.N Thanks again for reading, sorry for the cliff hanger. I need some district 12 like names. If you have suggestions just comment! Another chapter should be up soon.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys, sorry this is not a new chapter but I'm having a little bit of writers block. If you have some suggestions, that would bell me greatly. I will hopefully have another chapter up by tommorrow, but till then check out my other story. Its a Clato fan fiction, it's called from Babes to Babies.


	5. Chapter 5

**Don't own the Hunger Games I could never make characters as good as Suzanne Collins. **

"Hey! Girl from the apothecary shop. Wait up!"

I turned as I heard a boy call my name. It was getting dark but when the boy reached the gate I could see the same gray eyes I had been thinking about all day. I relized I hadn't said anything and just standing there unintelligently.

"My name's Sage"

"Ah finally a name behind the blonde beauty. What are you doing out in the woods, after dark?"

"I was on a walk with my friend, she just left, and I could ask what your doing here as well."

" I go and meet my dad when he gets out of the mines."

" Oh,"

"Not a girl of many words are you Sage, it's okay I like that, your pretty anough for it not to matter."

What did he mean by that it sounded so ignorant. Despite my best efforts I blushed. In my head I kept telling myself, "no, Sage he's a seam boy, you can't love him." My heart just ignored my head and despite my best efforts, I felt myself falling head over heels in love with Cole Everdeen. The problem is that I didn't know how he felt about me...

"Sorry if that was kinda sexist, it was supposed sound romantic. Obviously it was not." He pushed his head through his messy hair. "I don't really know how to act arounds girls as pretty as you,"

Dang it Sage stop blushing, at least I know knew he liked me, or he at least thought I was pretty.

"Thank you," I managed to get out in a sort of wisper giggle. Sage stop being so stupid around him! What is your problem, your a powerful girl, you don't belive in true love, much less soul mates.

"Look Sage, can I sell you some more berries, maybe see you again?"

"No!" I managed to say.

"Um... Okay then.." He blushed. He turned to leave but I stopped him.

"No, Cole it's not that I DON'T want you to sell me berries, it's just you can't. It's against the laws to be in the woods. I don't want you being caught and getting in trouble. "

"What the peace keepers don't know won't hurt them."

"Somebody will find out, and then they will tell on you."

"I will be careful, but why do you care so much Sage?"

"I don't, it's just I don't want anybody getting in trouble. Plus the store really needs those berries, and you can get them."

" we'll I promise to be careful and bring more berries if that means I can see you again Sage." He said with a dimpled smiled

My knees went weak at his smile. Not having any better place to look I looked at the dark sky. Crap! It was almost pitch dark.

"I should be getting home, my parents will start to get worried," I said anxious. "It was nice seeing you again, Cole, I will see later." I turned towards the gate and headed home. Smiling all the way home. I got home an after a quick dinner with my parents I fell asleep thinking about Cole...

**A.N sorry about the crappy chapter. I am suffering from writers block. The next chapter is sure to be better. Make sure to check out my other stories!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A.N I don't own the hunger games**

_The girl was powerful, smart, brave, talented. She looked like Cole. She knew she was defeated, the people in the arena weren't her enemy it was the Capitol. The girl was smart, but she knew that her death was near. The group of people were behind her. She turned to look over her shoulder, big mistake. The girl tripped over a tree root. This was the end for the girl, she knew it. The Tall muscular boy was before her in an instant. He smiled maliciously. _

_"I will make this fast." He pulled out his dagger and rasied over the girl. She cover her face with her arms. He thrusted the dagger into the girls heart. A cannon boomed _

I awoke in a panic. He face was wet with sweat, and my bed covers were strewn all over the floor. The girl in my dream, a girl who looked like Cole. I breathed deep.

I hated the Hunger Games. I had always had these terrible dreams. Dreams of people dying were not uncommon. They seemed more and more graphic as I grew older and my name was put more and more into the reaping bowl. This dream was different. Nobody I knew was in this dream. Usually in my hunger games related nightmares it was me, or somebody I knew in loved in the dream. While this girl looked familiar, I'd never seen her before. She was probley was a former tribute who had met an unfortant end. I shook my head and feel back on my pillow and started at the ceiling for awhile. There was no point in going back to sleep. It was already six and I needed to be up at 6:30 for school. I lay in bed thing about my dream. The dream wasn't different from any other dream I'd had, but for some reason it stuck with me when I woke up.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX XXXXXXXXX

In school I had my close friends, and the people who I hung out with. I wound not go as far to say I was popular, but I had a good amount of friends. I was never short of people to hang out with between classes and at lunch. Even though I had one close friend and that was Mille, I was also close to Maysilee before she died Brian was my friend too, but he was just wasn't as close as my girl friends. Mille didn't come to school that often because of her headaches. I was jealous of her for that. Not because her sister was dead, and she got such bad headaches, but because she didn't have to come to school. I liked school well enough, the teachers were nice, and all but despite the regular assembly's about intermixing Seam kids and merchant kids, the rift was quite obvious, because of this I couldn't see Cole at school. We didn't have classes together, our lockers were nowhere near each other that I knew of, and we had different lunches last semester. Maybe this semester was going to be different. I got to my homeroom and into my seat just as the late bell rang. My teacher gave a nasty look over the edge of his glasses. I was usually close to being late. I am not a morning person, and because of this it usually took me awhile to get ready and make to school on time. The dream I had this morning did nothing for my slowness. The teacher stood up and passed out our new schedules for the semester. The school year was different in district 12 then it had been before the hunger games. Students went from late August to late May. Our school year had been adapted to the hunger games. We started in about October and went to late April. We got a few days off in the middle of winter. Students went to school form when they were 6 to 18 if they were luckily. Seam kids rarely graduated. Another advantage to being from the merchants area.

My schedule was placed on my desk. It wasn't too bad. I'd managed to get the majority of my classes out of the way so my last year would be easy. For first period I had music, not bad I could carry a tune, a mandatory health class, (my best class), lunch, home etc. , and hunger games 101, something I'd put off till my senior year. It was going to be okay. I just couldn't wait for school to be over and start my life.


	7. Chapter 7

**I don't own the hunger games.**

The bell rang, signaling the students to go to first period. I made my way with the crowd heading towards room 203. The music room. I wasn't that fond of music. I only signed up for it because I didn't want to do art or some other stupid class. I was one of the first ones into the class. I didn't mind. This way I could see the people who came in. It wasnt because I was a teachers pet. A few familiar faces came in and then in came Brian. I was relived that at least one person I knew, and to a point liked, was in this class. He nodded seeing me and sat down next to me.  
"I'm pretty sure this is some sort of mistake, I can't sing a lick." I laughed. Brian was pretty cool. There could be worse people to end up with.  
"I know, I've heard you before Brian." Was that flirting? Brian seemed to. He blushed at my comment. Stupid Sage, don't lead him on.  
"Sorry, didnt mean to insult you."  
"It's okay Sage, I know I'm terrible. The only reason I'm in here is because art was full. I'm about as tone deaf as they get."  
I smiled despite myself. He really could make me laugh.  
I was so busy talking to Brian, I hadn't realized that the class was full, and now the teacher was calling roll. My laughter distubed the teacher and he looked quiet sternly back at me.  
"Ms. Sage, am I making you laugh?" Crap! Now he expected me to talk in class. Crap, Crap, Crap.  
"Sir, I'm sorry it was my fault, I was making her laugh."  
"Well then Mr..."  
"Mellark, sir, My name is Brian Mellark."  
"Well Brain Mellark, I applaud your civalry. Normally I would have you marked for disrupting my class but as it is the first day of school I will let you off with a warning. Don't let it happen again."  
"Yes sir."  
"Thank you Bri." I wisper.  
The teacher keeps calling Role I don't really pay attention till Brian's name is called. I'm right after him. I rely here in a monotone voice and just continue counting the minuets till class is over and I can do something productive. The teacher finishes up role call and starts class. I'm only half listening. Which is bad because its only five minuets into class.  
I've zoned out completely until the teacher asks if anybody knows the Valley Song and if so whould they like to sing it for the class.  
A single hand rises in the back. The boy makes his way to the front of the class. I don't even care I'm just watching the clock tick. Tick tock tick tock. 5 minuets till the end of class. My brain is fuzzing and I start to feel myself doze off, but a single sweet tune makes my head buzz. I'd had never heard such a sweet sound before. I look up to hear where the sweet anglic noise is coming up from. It's the boy in the front of the room. It takes a couple of minuets before I realize its Cole. I blink in realization. Cole finishes up his song to soon for my liking. After he finishes there is just quiet. All of the birds outside have stopped singing. It is in that moment that I decide there is no point in trying to disguise my feelings. I am in love with Cole Everdeen.


	8. Chapter 8

**A.N sorry guys but I'm probably only going to write like two more chapters and then put this story on hiatus. I will probably come back in like a month or two and finish it up. I have this other story I'm working on and I really like it. I won't leave you with a cliff hanger. I will probably just write until the last hunger games Cole and Sage have to go through. Then I will finish it. Thanks for reading! **

**-Mrs.KílíMellark**


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